Erythrina aryssinia— Picture by L.A. S. Grumbley, Kenya, East Africa. 
ested. 
wclose to 70 and just had both legs taken 
eae make 
fof seeds 
Mi along this line? 
fer 393 
For Shut-ins 
There are many people who are con- 
fined to thier chair due either to age or 
some sicknes and who have hours to spend 
alone and with nothing to keep them inter- 
I just visited such a person who is 
off above the knees!. “I just set here! [| 
would rather be dead”, was is remark, made 
several times during the visit. 
It has been our thot for some time to 
up a collection of, say, 4-5 kinds 
in a gift package and to meet 
several different types. And included with 
each collection would be the necessary grow- 
ing or germinating container necessary for 
the kind of seed sent as well as the soil 
medium AND with a printed direction for 
handling the collection. 
A collection should be made for, say $1.00 
and could be given as gifts to these unfort- 
unate people. The joy in seeing a new 
growth develope day by day, right before 
them; watching the sprout appear, then the 
leaves, etc., certainly would make their days 
more happy and enjoyable. i 
WHY cannot or readers make a suggestion 
Can you, from experience 
in growing indoor plants, make suggestions? 
™It seems that the kinds to grow should be 
rather easy and have a noticeable growth, 
especially if a few of the seedlings can be 
potted up. 
Proteaceae 
Marie M. Vogts, in S. Af. Botanical Journal 
The seed sowing period—the only one 
that is advisable —is exactly the same as in 
the winter-rainfall area: from the middle 
of March to the end of May. Odd seeds, 
especially of P. cynaroides, will often germ- 
inate in the spring, but loses are too great 
to recommend this even tho the seeds may 
have been artifically heated or frozen. 
Great care should be taken that the seed- 
lings of those Proteas that germinate quick- 
ly like Serruria florida are protected from 
frost, as the young plants appear during 
the worst of winter. Strangely enough it 
seems that frost is a beneficial factor in seed 
germination. The longer the period of 
germination the higher the percentage after 
severe cold. 
My experience has been that I have had 
the optimum germination of L. reflexum and 
P. barbigera after heavy frost. Of course, 
there is hardly any danger of these young 
seedlings being harmed by frost, as P. bar- 
bigera is exceptionally hardy and the germ- 
ination period of L. reflexum is from 4-6 
months. Yet despite the fact that a cold 
winter aids germination, the seeds have to go 
in while the earth is still warm. 
Since the seed beds have to be kept damp 
it appears that covering the seed with some 
compost or grass, which is often successful 
- in the Western Province, is fatal here on 
account of the sudden heat of a winter mid- 
day. This causes ‘sweating’ and damages 
the germinating seed. Seed should be sown 
so shallow that one is almost afraid that the 
watering will uncover them. 
Here [ should like to add something about 
the advantages of sowing seeds in situ. It 
does not. I admit, apply to the summer- 
rainfall area alone. But the advantages of 
seedlings standing in situ through their first 
summer, where there is summer rain, are 
naturally much greater than where there 
is a hot, dry summer to cope with. 
If 20 seeds are sown on a small round 
bed with an eye to the desired grouping, and 
15 seeds germinate, 3-5 can be left there and 
the others transplanted when still very small. 
The few that are left undisturbed will almost 
without exception flower in 16 months to two 
years from sowing date, depending upon the 
species; while the transplants invariably take 
longer, and how much longer is due to the 
extent to which the roots have been nipped 
off or disturbed. 
NOTE: This is but part of the article and 
while it applies to South African growing 
conditions, it is reprinted here in part, be- 
cause it contains many good points. : 
WEST AUSTRALIAN FLORA 
All the states are richly endowed wtih 
attractive flora, West Australia stands alone 
in this respect. Its cut flowers are sent by air 
regularily to thé eastern States and many 
tourists from the East are regular visitors 
to the West during September and October, 
the best months for nature’s display. 
The following are some of their finest, 
easily grown shrubs: Howea elliptica, Chor- 
izema cordata, Dryandra formosa, Boronia 
megastigmor, Acacia Drummondii, Banksia 
coccinea and Menziesi, Geraldson and Wax- 
flower. There are a host of other fina 
shrubs and trees in the country but I think 
the above would be a good introduction 
to West Australian flowers. 
They are easily raised from seed although 
some may take a month or two to germinate. 
Give them the same treatment as South Af- 
rican seeds and you will have no trouble. 
As reported by Thomas A. Browne, in the 
Journal of the Botanical Society of South 
Africa. 
CLEMATIS ARE LIME LOVERS 
Nearly all Clematis are lime lovers; only 
a few species such as C. Baldwinii and C. 
crispa Walteri will thrive in acid soils. 
It can be a safe rule to follow when set- 
ting out all sorts of Clematis to see that the 
soil is loamy, fairly rich and well drained 
and that shade and protection to the lower 
part of the plant is very important. 
A good mulch is necessary at all times and 
much as with Lilies, the roots should be 
cool; thus shade at this point and a good 
mulch is of prime importance. 
It is for this reason that one usually sees 
fine Clematis vines where there is shade on 
the south side. 
CANADIAN CUSTOMERS 
If it will be of help to you when you are 
making a remittance, you can use personal 
checks at par, no exchange necessary as they 
are cleared in Canada. 
LEAF MOULD. 
This is a term much mis-used in_hort- 
iculture literature. Even the spelling is 
either ‘mold’ or ‘mould’. The dictionary 
(ours) even skips the word; should it be 
leaf mould or leaf-mould . 
Leaf-mould as taken from the woods will 
vary considerably. A good leaf-mould will 
contain a sandy loam soil, rotted oak leaves 
and to this is usually added fine charcoal, 
course silver sand and peat. It makes a 
light soil but its most valuable part is its 
bacterial content. - 
This soil can be screened thru various sized 
screens for use as required. 
If this soil is secured from new _ lands, 
where little chance of disease or pests may 
be had, it may be all right as it is but us- 
ually it pays to sterilize it before using, 
especially for greenhouse pot plants. 
SUCCULENTS IN GENERAL. 
Usually the best time to sow the seed of 
succulents is during the spring months and 
it 1s claimed that the seed pzn mus~ be closed 
with a glass cover because the relative atmos- 
pheric moisture content should be about 
90% and the temperature 85-90 degrees F. 
Most seed germinates quickly in 3-4 days, 
but some may require 2 months. It is im- 
portant to remove seedlings immediately 
from the moist germinating container, other- 
wise they will rot. The soil should be por- 
ous well-rotted leaf mould plus twice as 
much washed course sand. It is best to 
sterilize the soil. 
Uue shallow seeds pans, covering surface 
with a layer of sand on which is sown the 
seed; cover thinly with a layer of sand, not 
more than the thickness of the seed. Shade 
the seed container and water from below; 
usually one good watering at the start is 
sufficient and none is required after the 
planting. 
XERONEMA CALLISTEMON 
Discovered in 1924 on Poor Knight’s Is- 
land. It is easy to grow in any free, loose 
soil; plenty of sunshine. 
It is not too well known as yet and I have 
never been able to locate seed; probably 
some of our readers in that section of the 
world can advise. It can be grown from 
seed and the seedlings do best when pot 
grown. 
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